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ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP

January 20, 2017

Martin Kaymer

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Q. 12-under par for two days, 66 today. That's about level par for you around here.
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't know about that; my record here. But I felt like I played a little bit better than yesterday. It was a bit more difficult today with the wind, especially the first nine. I struck the ball a little bit better and I made a few long putts today, same as yesterday.

Q. How aggressive can you be on this golf course? Because sometimes when you push and try to go low, it doesn't work out.
MARTIN KAYMER: I don't try to push at all. I just try to enjoy playing my favourite golf course. Once in a while, when a putt drops in, you catch momentum and you can make another three or four birdies coming in, like it happened today; I think I made only two pars on the back nine. So pushing, I have that experience with pushing.

Q. Does it feel good to you that the hard work that you've put in over the off period, you've hit the ground running straightaway: Two 66s.
MARTIN KAYMER: It's nice when you can let go. It's one of those things when you practice a lot, you feel good and then you leave the range and then you play a few practice rounds, you play a Pro-Am and it's not quite there yet. And then you hope: Is it tomorrow? Is it Friday or Saturday? The day where everything pays off; and then it pays off right away.

I'm not quite a hundred percent happy yet with how I played. There's a few things here and there, but we always have those little things if you're a perfectionist. But overall, I think it paid off fairly well so far.

Q. Big crowds tomorrow, last group. Looking forward to that?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I've been a couple times the last groups here in Abu Dhabi. The people have always supported me a lot. Not only the locals, but a lot of German friends here, as well, so I think it's going to be an exciting weekend.

Q. Your first golf tournament for you in over a month. Did you see yourself at 12-under par?
MARTIN KAYMER: You never know, after a long break like that. I didn't play a tournament for seven weeks. Then you come out here and shoot 12-under par after two rounds, obviously a brilliant start.

For me it's always a nice tournament to start my season with. I've won here a few times in the past. It's a good feeling with the practice that you put in over the last two months pays off right away. So far, very positive.

Q. A lot of difference obviously between practice and competitive rounds. Guys talk about shaking off the rust, scraping off the rust. How did you scrape it off without hitting a shot in tournament golf?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think golf-wise, I think technique-wise, it's not a big issue. It's more like a mental approach. If you haven't hit a golf shot a long time under tournament conditions; it always takes three, four holes, until you get back into it.

Fortunately yesterday, after that long putt that I made on 10, right away I was in the tournament. I didn't feel like I had a long break. And also, what Tiger Woods did, after such a long break, playing very good golf in my eyes, it's very tough. It's very tough and people underestimate the long break for a golfer because we are so fragile sometimes.

Q. You're a young man but you've been around for a long time. What did you learn that will help you over the course of the weekend?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, I have all kind of experience on that golf course: Very good ones, and a couple poor ones. So I learned from the U.S. Open, and it worked out for me very well that I approach every day as a no day and don't compare to what happened the last day or on Thursday, and that's the same way I will try to approach tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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